This Trade Put Me on the Path to Financial Independence

By E.B. TuckerMarch 3, 2019Print

Nick’s Note: Today, we take a look into the mind of one of the best big-picture thinkers in our business, Strategic Investor editor E.B. Tucker.

E.B. knows how to spot big trends—and make the right moves to book huge profits. Recently, he put two of the world’s most lucrative trends on our radar: legal sports betting and America’s “new energy metals.”

Below, E.B. reveals how he gets his edge… how it’s led him to some of the biggest calls of his career… and how you can start applying it to your own strategy…

By E.B. Tucker, editor, Strategic Investor

On Monday morning, September 22, 2008, about a half-hour before the stock market opened, I made a decision that changed my life…

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Gene, my stock broker at the time. Gene was taking a ferry to an exclusive golf course on the North Carolina coast and had a terrible cell connection. I’m sure making this sell order was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Yes,” I insisted. “Get the trade in now.”

At the time, LNC was my largest stock holding. LNC is Lincoln National Corp, a major life insurance and annuity company. In 2006, LNC acquired a smaller life insurance company in a stock deal. I owned shares of that company, so when LNC bought it at a premium, I held onto the stock. I looked at the company as a long-term holding—a well-run life insurance business can be a great long-term stock investment…

The annuity business LNC focused on, however, worried me. I had a hunch that the company’s big push into annuities was about to be its undoing.

Gene did get my order in that morning. He sold LNC shares at $54:

Over the next 43 days, shares fell 91% to a low of $5.07.

Not long after that, in November 2008, I bought back all of the shares I sold, and even increased my position by 16%. I paid $10.93 per share on that repurchase, which means I kept $43.07 per share. I now had cash—dry powder—as the market bounced from its March 2009 low. (The S&P 500 was up more than 30% by May and over 60% by the end of 2009.)

Over the coming months, I used that windfall to buy up assets on the cheap.

Looking back on it now, I know that the LNC decision put me on a path to financial independence.

Some might chock it up to pure dumb luck or sheer chance.

But they’d be wrong.

As far back in life as my first memory, I wanted to know how things worked. I had to try everything for myself. I didn’t want to just read books about how things worked—I wanted to go meet an expert who would show me in person.

When I met the stock market at age 20, my curiosity found a home. I spent the following decade buying and selling anything that I felt I had an edge in. But more importantly, I said “yes” thousands of times to new opportunities.

I took thousands of shots. I went to annual meetings. I listened to earnings calls. I waited in line to shake hands with company executives just to see if they had a firm grip and solid eye contact.

In the wake of the tech bust and the 9/11 tragedy, the U.S. economy ground to a halt.

The Federal Reserve stepped in to do something unprecedented, which seems normal today. It lowered interest rates and pumped money into the stalled U.S. economy.

I had to know what this would do to stocks. I knew some sectors would thrive, but I had to figure out which specific ones.

You see, when I want to know the answer to a question like this, I don’t go to a textbook for the answer. I wear out my phone (it was a landline back then) and get on a plane and go. I keep asking the question until I get the pieces of the puzzle needed to make a decision.

In this case, I figured out that lower borrowing rates would boost the construction and development business. I needed to buy steel, wood, and concrete providers in key states likely to see big growth.

And I found the newly listed Rinker Materials. The Australian company made a play in the U.S. market, buying up concrete providers in Florida and Nevada. Both of those markets see quick growth when money begins to flow.

So I needed to know how the concrete business worked—and fast. I drove to Bushnell, Florida, and showed up at the Rinker office. I told the manager I was a shareholder and wanted to see how the place worked.

E.B. in the driver’s seat

He told me, “We’re sold out for the rest of the year.” He said business was so good recently that they couldn’t take on any more scheduled work until the following year. That was enough for me.

I paid $22.82 for Rinker shares in early 2004 and sold them three years later for $79.25 a share—a 247% profit. Concrete giant Cemex bought the company the same year.

I ended up with a great yield, too—nearly 15% on my buy price. When a business gets good, it gushes cash.

Over time, I had winners and losers. I bought into great stories. Some worked out, others didn’t. But I was never afraid to learn about and invest in something new. In fact, I sought it out.

Then, something happened. As time passed, I had more and more winners. I had fewer and fewer losers. I started to develop a knack for getting it right. But more importantly, I knew which factors to look for and which ones to ignore.

His method worked so well that—according to some historians—the federal government was forced to ban it in 1863.

Now, it’s making a comeback, and 13 U.S. states could reinstate the “money license” very soon. For those who take advantage, it could mean the payday of a lifetime. (Franklin made so much money, he was able to set up a trust that paid out millions… for 200 years!)

I could suddenly see predictable patterns and outcomes—well in advance—because I’d seen them before. And I developed strategic maneuvers to profit from those patterns time and time again.

In early 2009, I realized that the U.S. housing bust would create a generation of renters. I raised money and bought a large portfolio of single-family rental houses at rock-bottom prices—as low as 10 cents on the dollar. Today, I still have a passive income stream that yields around 20% per year.

Last year, I strategically avoided bitcoin’s collapse… while making a 15,000% profit on a blockchain mining deal.

Again, this isn’t luck. It comes down to experience and noticing similar patterns that no one else is looking for.

COMPANY

POLICIES

JOIN OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER

Reading The Palm Beach Daily will help you grow your bottom line and live a happier life in just
three minutes a day.

All rights reserved. You may not republish, upload, post, transmit or otherwise distribute any Palm Beach Research Group content to online bulletin and message boards, blogs, chat rooms, intranets, or in other any manner,
without our prior written authorization. Any modification or use of the content for purposes other than your personal, noncommercial use is a violation of our copyright and proprietary rights, and may subject you to legal liability and result
in the cancellation of your services.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. It is not designed to meet your personal situation – we are not financial advisors nor do we give personalized advice. The opinions
expressed herein are those of the publisher and are subject to change without notice. It may become outdated and there is no obligation to update any such information.

Recommendations in Palm Beach Research Group publications should be made only after consulting with your advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company in question. You shouldn't make any decision based
solely on what you read here.

Palm Beach Research Group writers and publications do not take compensation in any form for covering those securities or commodities.

Palm Beach Research Group expressly forbids its writers from owning or having an interest in any security that they recommend to their readers. Furthermore, all other employees and agents of Palm Beach Research Group and its affiliate companies
must wait 24 hours before following an initial recommendation published on the Internet, or 72 hours after a printed publication is mailed.

Palm Beach Research Group welcomes comments or suggestions here. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account, or to speak with customer service, call 888-501-2598
(U.S.) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. ET, or e-mail us here. We look forward to your feedback and questions. However, the law prohibits us from giving individual and personal investment
advice. We are unable to respond to e-mails and phone calls requesting that type of information.